Destined to Fall
by Rhianna-Aurora
Summary: LagunaxRaine. SquallxRinoa. Five years after Ultimecia's defeat, Squall's thinking about the future. But before he steps forward, he has to look back. This is the story of Laguna and Raine. Because they were happy, before it all fell apart.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** **This is something I've wanted to do for a while now. My version of the relationship of Laguna and Raine. The game doesn't really give much detail on it, and I wanted to. I am in no way saying this should be taken as fact, it's just ONE example of how their story might have gone. There's some Squall/Rinoa thrown in here for good measure, as well. Enjoy! (Oh, and PLEASE let me know if any of the words are scrunched together. This site likes to do that.) ;p  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own FFVIII, Squall, Rinoa, Raine, Laguna, etc. They all belong to Square. I own the idea for this fic, and that is all.**

_**Prologue**_

Squall stared up at the Presidential mansion in Esthar, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his well-worn leather jacket, jangling his keys and coins nervously. Rinoa walked up behind him and squeezed his shoulder lightly. He turned his head to look at her, and she offered him a reassuring smile.

"He's your father, Squall," she said in a small, soft voice. "You can't ignore him forever -- believe me. It's good that you're doing this."

He narrowed his eyes and searched her face for a moment before he spoke. He knew this was difficult for her now. Her own father, General Caraway, had passed away just three months earlier. She was constantly beating herself up for not reconciling with him sooner, and, in his nearly six years of knowing her, Squall had never seen her so distraught. It made him feel helpless and sad, and the last thing he wanted was to make _her_ feel any worse than she already did.

"Hey, Rin," he said, "you know you don't have to do this."

She put her fingertips to his lips gently and shook her head. "I know I don't _have_ to, Squall. But I want to be here for you, okay? I know that this … isn't easy for you. You wouldn't have asked me to come if you didn't think my being here would make it easier. When are you going to just accept that I'm in this for the long haul, huh?"

Her soft brown eyes were so earnest and full of acceptance for him and all his faults, that it was all he could do not to ask her right then and there … but no. This was the reason they were here. And he couldn't look ahead until he'd looked back.

So he blew out an agitated breath and cast a sidelong glance at Rinoa. "Five years," he mumbled. "You think he's mad?"

Rinoa laughed. "I doubt it. President Loire didn't really seem to be the grudge-holding type."

"Yeah, but that was five years ago," Squall reminded her. "I mean, I've been putting off meeting him since …"

"Since you found out who he was?" Rinoa supplied. She shook her head. "This is exactly why you shouldn't put it off any longer. Squall, listen to me. You don't want to make my mistake. Trust me. You don't."

He took her face into his hands and looked at her, his steel-blue eyes intense on her face. She wrinkled her nose at his extreme scrutiny, and he smiled, satisfied that she was going to be all right. Warmth filled him; warmth that he should be used to by now, after nearly six years with this woman, but it never ceased to floor him. He hadn't known he could _ever_ feel this content and free. And he knew without a doubt, that he _had _to do this. And do it soon. Waiting too much longer was likely to kill him.

He had told _her_ that the sudden death of General Caraway had made him realize that the time had come for him to meet with Laguna -- really meet with him -- and finally find out where he came from, exactly.

But he didn't tell her the truth. Over the past year or so, he'd started to want _things_ -- future-type-things. Things he'd always sworn he'd never want, things he said he didn't need. But he wanted them with her. And even though he knew (or was pretty damn sure anyway -- she never specifically brought it up, but sometimes she'd get that dreamy, far-off girl look on her face) that she wanted them too … he wanted to be able to offer her more than just Squall Leonhart -- man with no past.

Ellone knew bits and pieces, but she'd only been three at the time, so she could only offer so much. She didn't know _anything_ about Laguna and Raine's actual courtship, and she'd been long gone by the time Squall was born …

And boy, _that _was a subject she was particularly prickly about. Squall reasoned out that she felt a lot of guilt for the fact that Laguna had been gone that fateful August night … though, to himself he wondered if it really would have made any difference? Laguna'd never come back for him anyway. Obviously, he just wasn't that important to him.

Ellone had snapped at him for saying things like that about Laguna. "You can't possibly know what he was thinking back in those days, Squall. And you don't know how terrible the people of Winhill were to him!" she had berated him. "You've never even _talked _to him! He's invited you to see him _how _many times now? And you always refuse! Don't you make judgments about him until you've actually sat down and talked to him."

Squall knew she was right, but he had never mentioned it again in her presence. He _had _tried to convince her to take him back to the past again, but she had vehemently refused. Ever since Ultimecia, Ellone had been much more cautious about using her gifts. At least, that was the excuse she gave him.

"Besides," she had told Squall. "Hearing the story first-hand from Laguna, seeing the expressions on his face when he talks about Raine and life in Winhill will tell you more than anything I could ever show you, anyway."

She'd been right, of course. She was always right. Between her and Rinoa, he couldn't win an argument to save his life any more.

So that brought him here. To Esthar. For a long-overdue visit with Laguna Loire. His father. The only person alive who could tell him everything he wanted and needed to know. "Okay," he said to Rinoa. "Let's do this."

"I'm right behind you," Rinoa told him as he walked forward to the lift that would take them inside the palace. "Like always."

Five minutes later, they were in Laguna's office, at the request of one of his aides. The young man had gone to find Laguna, and had told them to make themselves comfortable.

Squall didn't think such a thing was possible at this point in time. Rinoa was sitting on the dark brown leather sofa, looking around the sparsely decorated room. "Not much for personal mementos, is he?"

"Don't have many." A voice in the doorway caused her to jump up quickly and stand at Squall's side.

"Mr. President!" she stammered, nodding her head at him in deference.

Squall elbowed her. "Rinoa," he hissed.

"Oh, Hyne, don't start that," Laguna said good-naturedly, entering the room. "It's Laguna to you, young lady."

"Yes, of course, Mr. … Laguna." She looked at Squall, who rolled his eyes at her and mouthed "Suck up."

"You look _exactly _like your mother," he told her, stopping to stand in front of her and taking her hand in his. "Almost gave me a heart attack to see you sitting on the sofa over there."

Rinoa smiled at the compliment. To her, being compared to her mother was the _highest_ honor anyone could pay her. "Sorry to have startled you," she said earnestly.

He patted her hand before he released it, and then walked over to his desk and sat on the edge. "Don't apologize for looking like your mother! Hyne save us, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." He laughed lightly to himself, and then turned his attention to Squall. His face turned serious. "So. You've finally decided to visit."

"Yes, sir," Squall said, mentally kicking himself for taking on the same stiff, formal tone he'd just made fun of Rinoa over. Laguna's face was serious for a long moment, and Squall began to worry that he was angry, that he'd waited too long; this visit was too little, and way too late.

But then Laguna smiled broadly. "Well, it's about time!" he said, clapping his son on the back. "How long are you staying? Don't worry, there's plenty of room here. You won't be putting anyone out at all. We live for guests around here! Hope your trip was all right. Esthar traffic can be a bitch, I know."

Rinoa hid her smile with her hand and pretended to cough to keep from giggling at the dumbstruck look on Squall's face.

"Wait. You're not … mad?" Squall said cautiously.

"Why would I be mad?" Laguna asked, genuinely befuddled by the question.

"Because I ignored your requests to visit for so long? You know …" Rinoa put her hand on Squall's shoulder. He was legitimately embarrassed about his poor behavior over the past few years, especially seeing how warmly Laguna was welcoming him now.

"I knew you'd visit when you were good and ready to," Laguna said easily. "I'm not one to get all worried about things I've got no control over."

"Oh, man," Rinoa couldn't help laughing. "Are you sure you're _his_ father?" Squall's glare was deathly. "Sorry," she mumbled, biting her lip and looking at the floor.

"Don't be," Laguna said. He looked at Squall. "Raine was a worrier, too. Way too uptight, I always told her."

Squall's head shot up at that. "Raine."

Laguna nodded. "I assume that's why you're here."

Squall nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, really, I just …"

"Hey, like I said … no worries." Laguna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Tell you what. Forget the hotel. You two have had a long trip. You guys can stay here and get some rest, and tomorrow morning, I'll answer any questions you might have about your mother or me, or both of us … whatever you like."

Squall could only nod, having been completely steamrolled by Laguna. Rinoa could only smile. Before her stood two men, who looked so much alike, and yet were as different as could be. Hyne help her if she didn't love them both to pieces.

"Thank you," she told Laguna as he led them upstairs to one of the guest rooms.

"Oh, wait. Should I be, like, making you two have separate rooms or something?" He looked at Rinoa questioningly. "That's the 'dad' thing to do, right?" he whispered uncertainly.

"Try it, old man," Squall growled, pulling Rinoa into the room with him.

Rinoa giggled. "I think you're okay," she told Laguna with a wink, positioning herself in the doorjamb so that Squall couldn't shut the door. "Thanks again!" She kicked her surly beloved in the shins and looked pointedly at Laguna.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks. Or whatever," Squall mumbled, glaring at Rinoa.

Laguna just laughed. Squall and Rinoa -- they were so much like he and Raine had been, once upon a time. And Squall was so much like his mother. Looking into the boy's eyes was almost painful … those were _Raine's_ eyes, no two ways about it. "See you in the morning."

When Rinoa finally moved out of the doorway (or rather _was moved_ by Squall) and the door was shut, Laguna's merry smile faded. He was so glad Squall was finally here, but he dreaded what was to come next.

Telling the story of he and Raine was something he hadn't done since … well, _ever_. He didn't even know where to begin, really. Then it came to him. Of course, _he _didn't have a good starting place for the story. But Raine did.

Now he just needed to remember where he'd stashed that old journal …


	2. Chapter One: Washed Ashore

**Disclaimer: See the Prologue. Not mine.**

**Chapter One**  
_**Washed Ashore**_

"… _A man washed ashore today. A soldier, from Galbadia. I've never seen such extensive injuries … I wonder how he's still alive …_

… _L. Loire, his dogtags say. I want to remember that every patient has a NAME, and isn't just an injured body …_

… _I do hope Mr. Loire will be able to make a full recovery, and get back home to his "Julia" soon …"  
--Raine's Diary_

The day Laguna Loire arrived in Winhill was just like any other day, as far as Raine was concerned. She and Ellone woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast downstairs, and then Ellone went to Mrs. Arvel's house while Raine went to work at the flower shop. She worked some mornings with Ms. Rasmessen, just to give the elderly lady a bit of a hand before she opened her pub up at noon. Other mornings, she could be found at the small clinic at the edge of town, working as a nurse under the tutelage of Dr. Vinidi. He seemed to think she'd make a good doctor someday, and Raine hoped he was right.

"Good morning, Ms. Rasmessen," she said as she entered the flower shop, the bell above the door tinkling softly.

"Oh, Raine!" the older woman said, coming out of the back room. "I didn't expect to see you today. Such a pretty day, I thought you'd be spending it with Theo."

Raine fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Theo was the owner of the Winhill Inn and Tavern, having inherited it from his father earlier that year. He'd grown up in Winhill, just like Raine, and it seemed like, ever since they were toddlers, the townsfolk had been planning their wedding.

To be fair, Raine supposed that healways had liked her an awful lot, ever since they were young -- though she imagined that had more to do with the fact that females under the age of thirty-five were hard to come by in town, more than anything else. Since he _certainly _didn't really seem to be interested in anything she had to say. And he wasn't too keen on her working with the doctor, either.

Raine sometimes thought -- rather bitterly -- that he would be happy if she'd just sit at home, knitting or something, and wait for him to call on her. And try as she might, she just couldn't shake these ideas from her head, and that made it really hard to fall in love with the guy. He'd always been a good friend, sure. But the idea of _marrying_ him …

And she wished that it were different, wished that she couldsettle down with him, like he wanted. But honestly, she just couldn't see a future with him. And while it was all well and good to just enjoy the moment and have fun -- which she did, occasionally, with Theo -- she had to think about Ellone now, too.

And there. That was the biggestproblem between the two of them these days. Before she had taken custody of Ellone, she'd been able to overlook the other issues, because really, she couldn't afford to be overly picky, or harbor delusions of some great romance. Life in Winhill had taught her to be practical, and practical she was. Theo was kind to her, and he was from a good-standing family. In the eyes of the townsfolk, they were picture-perfect.

But Theo barelytolerated Ellone. He was always suggesting that the girl would be better off in an orphanage in Deling City or Esthar, a suggestion that _horrified_ Raine. Ellone was the daughter of Raine's best friend, and there was no way she was sending her off to live with strangers.

In fact, this was the reason that she wasn't talking to him at the moment. Last night, during their weekly "date" (which typically consisted of dinner at his family's tavern), he'd suggested sending Ellone off somewhere, yet again_. _She had gotten angry and stormed out, leaving an embarrassed Theo behind. She had picked Ellone up from Mrs. Arvel's, and the two of them had spent the rest of the evening catching fireflies in the backyard of Ellone's old house.

Audrina and Tylen had been killed, just _six months _earlier, and the pain of it was still fresh in Raine's heart. She hadn't been able to stop the soldiers, but she _could_ protect Ellone. And she would, even if it meant she would be alone.

Honestly, she could handle being alone, she'd been doing it for a long time. Sure, it was nice to have the company of an adult sometimes, but Theo wasn't exactly what you'd qualify as an "adult" most days, anyway.

Oh, she missed Audrina. Shehad understood Raine better than anyone -- understood that Raine was perfectly content to stay in Winhill and work hard, and raise a family, just as her mother had done before her. It was the only life she'd ever known, and, as long as she was happy, she didn't see any reason to change. And she had been happy. The small town was winsome and comfortable … and her whole life was here.

The town was isolated from the rest of civilization, what with the cliffs of the Monterosa Plateau to the east and the ocean to the west … it was the reason Winhill had remained completely unchanged for nearly a century.

All the other young people had left as soon quickly as they could, but Raine and Audrina had stayed in Winhill. For them, Winhill had been their paradise, their sanctuary; everything.

Audrina had married their childhood friend, Tylen, here, and they had had Ellone just a little over a year after that. Funny. Life here hadn't seemed so bad when Audrina and Tylen were still alive, but now …

Now all it did was remind Raine, every day, of all the people she had loved and lost here.

"Raine? Is everything all right, dear?" Ms. Rasmessen's voice brought Raine out of her reverie and she smiled.

"Oh, no, everything's fine. I'm sorry," Raine said, tying an apron around her waist and hurrying into the back to begin cutting and arranging the flowers.

"Daydreaming about that fella of yours, I understand," Ms. Rasmessen said with a twinkle in her eyes.

Raine concentrated on the flowers, ignoring the older lady pointedly. She didn't really want to spend all morning listening to Ms. R. gush about Theo. The way she went on, you'd think the old lady had designs on him herself.

Of course, in this little town, pickings were slim, and Theo _was_ considered to be quite the catch. Handsome, and the owner of the tavern to boot. What more could a girl want?

_Oh, I don't know_, Raine thought bitterly. _How about someone who listens to me when I talk, someone who cares about my opinions and views on things. Someone who at least _tolerates _Ellone and doesn't insist I ship her off at every possible turn. Someone who …_

The bell above the door jingled. "Raine!" Raine bit back a grimace at the sound of Theo's voice, but wiped her hands on her apron and walked toward the front of the store. "Raine, come to the clinic, quick! Doc needs your help! Got an injured guy, just washed up on the shore!"

"What?" Raine asked, but she was already removing her apron. "I'm sorry, Ms. Rasmessen," she said apologetically.

"Not at all, dear. You've got important work to do there with the doctor."

Raine smiled. "Flowers are important too!" she said kindly, and then hurried out the door. "What happened?" she asked Theo as they all but jogged down the path to the clinic.

"No idea. Old Man Gentry was out fishing, like normal, and this guy washes up right beside him. Nearly gave the old boy a heart attack."

Raine nodded. "And he's still alive?"

"Doc said to get you, so I'm going to say yes," Theo said with a shrug.

"Doctor? I'm here!" Raine called out as she entered the clinic. An ear-splitting scream met her ears, and she bit her lip. Whoever the poor man was, he must have been hurting _badly_ to make such unholy noises.

"I'm back here!" Dr. Vinidi's voice called out, followed by another howl from the patient.

Raine hurried down the hall to one of the examination rooms, followed closely by Theo. She went to open the door and the doctor poked his head out. "Did you eat this morning, Raine?" he asked seriously.

"What? Of course I did, why?"

The doctor opened the door wider. "This is Mr. Loire," the doctor said, handing Raine a set of dogtags that read "L. Loire, Galbadia". She looked at them for a second and then set them down on the counter to her left. She turned her attention to the man in front of her. If Raine had been one given to fainting, she would have probably been out cold at that moment. Luckily, she wasn't.

The man lying on the cot was hardly recognizable as a man at all. Every bit of flesh that Raine could see was black or purple or some disturbing combination of both; she couldn't even tell what his face might look like, for it was so bruised and lacerated. There was an astonishing amount of blood on all his clothing, which, was apparently a military uniform, unless his dogtags were fake.

His right arm was clearlybroken, and his left leg … Raine put her hand to her mouth and breathed deeply for a moment. His leg was twisted in a way no leg was meant to ever be twisted. And to top it all off, he was keening and crying in a way that Raine had never before heard from another human.

"Uh, I think … I'll talk to you later," Theo said, turning to leave. His stomach had lurched at the sight before him, and he was amazed that Raine could just stand there, staring at it so coolly. Raine just nodded; she had forgotten he was even there.

"My gods," she breathed, taking a step into the room after Theo had left. "How is … I mean … how is he still alive?"

"I think it looks worse than it is," the doctor said in a low tone. "And yes, it looks bad, and I'm not saying he's not in a great deal of pain." Another yelp from the soldier proved this point. "But I don't think any of these injuries are life-threatening." Raine just nodded, still staring at the broken, bloody man lying in front of her. "First things first," the doctor said. "We've got to get that uniform off of him … carefully … and he needs to be cleaned up."

The man howled again, and Raine chewed on her bottom lip in agitation. "Could we give him something, first? I think … I mean, he sounds like he's in such pain."

"I dosed him when he first got here … can't give him too much," Vinidi said, and Raine nodded.

"Okay." She opened up a drawer, pulled out a pair of scissors, and then handed them to the doctor. She then prepared a solution of water and alcohol and dipped a soft cloth into it. She moved around the side of the cot the man was lying on and began to gently clean all the many scrapes and cuts on his face.

He hissed and whimpered at her touch and she looked at him apologetically. He might've tried to open his eyes, but they were swollen shut. The medicine Dr. Vinidi had given him would hopefully help with that, soon.

"I'm sorry," Raine said in a quiet but firm voice. "I'm really sorry, but if I don't get these cuts clean, they're going to get infected. Just hold still, okay?"

"J-Julia?" the man whispered.

Raine looked at him. Julia? A wife or girlfriend, probably. Whoever she was, she probably missed him. "No, I'm sorry," she told him. "I'm Raine."

The man took hold of her hand then, and his grip was surprisingly strong for one in his condition. "Julia," he said again, sounding almost … wistful. He didn't let go of her hand.

_Okay_, Raine thought, _I can play along, if it will make him feel better_. "Okay," she said quietly. "I'm Julia. And I'm right here." He squeezed her hand then, and she smiled in spite of it all. She needed to get him all patched up so he could go home to Julia, whoever she was. She cleaned the rest of the injuries on his face and deemed that he needed several stitches above his left eye.

The rest of the day was spent meticulously going over the man's injuries, cleaning and disinfecting him, stitching him up, and resetting his bones. "Do you think he'll heal … properly?" Raine asked Dr. Vinidi as they walked out of the room, somewhere around ten-thirty that evening.

"I think it will take a long time before he's up and walking around again, if that's what you mean," the doctor replied tiredly. "But I think he'll be just fine." He patted her hand in a very grandfatherly way. "You did good work today, Raine. You've a real knack for making the patients comfortable. I noticed, though I couldn't hear you, that whatever you said to him seemed to calm him down. It would have been hard to finish up if he'd continued carrying on in that manner."

"He was asking about … a woman," Raine said. "Julia. Did he have any other identification on him, aside from the dogtags? Any addresses?"

Vinidi shook his head. "Afraid not. But it doesn't seem that he suffered too much trauma to the head, I'm sure he'll remember where it is he needs to be, once he's recovered."

"I hope so," Raine said. She looked at her watch. "Oh! I need to go get Ellone. I'll come back first thing tomorrow morning to check on him."

"Thank you, Raine," Vinidi said, putting his hands to his temples. "I am getting too old for this. Good night."

"Night!" Raine replied with a small wave.

She took her time walking across town to the Arvels'. The whole time, she thought about how … _satisfying_ the day had been. She had helped _put a man back together_, basically, and he was going to be fine. She had held his hand and calmed him down when nothing else had seemed to work. It was very gratifying. For the first time in Hyne knew how long, Raine felt like she'd been a part of something much bigger than herself. Part of her wished she could bottle this feeling for the future, but the other, bigger part of her knew that it was because moments like this were so rare and fleeting that they were so special.

Ellone was already sound asleep when she got there. "Oh, I hate to wake her," she said to Mrs. Arvel. "And I'm so sorry about the time."

"Don't you worry about that at all, Raine," Mrs. Arvel said kindly. "Theo came by and told us all about the man from the sea, and how you'd probably be busy for the next few days. He said it would be a great help to you if we just kept Ellone here for a few days. We don't mind a bit."

Raine's mouth tightened. "He said _what_?" she asked in a very low voice. "He really had … no right to come here and ask that of you. I apologize."

"Not at all," Mrs. Arvel said. "Why don't you just go on home and get some sleep, and tomorrow morning, we can discuss this all further."

Raine sighed. That didmake the most sense right now. "Okay. I'll be back for Elle bright and early, then." She left then, and walked across the street, toward her pub and the apartment above it, where she made her home.

She came to a stop when she saw Theo standing in front of the pub, waiting for her. "Ah, there you are," he said brightly. "So we finally have a night to ourselves, how about that?"

"I'm really tired, Theo," Raine said coolly. "I spent twelve hours in the clinic today, basically putting that poor man back together, and now all I want to do is take a bath and go to bed." She frowned as she caught the gleam in Theo's brown eyes. "_Alone_," she added quickly.

"Oh, come _on_, Raine," Theo said in a voice that was dangerously close to a whine. "I got rid of Ellone for you and _this_ is how you thank me?"

"About that," Raine said, feeling her anger bubbling near the surface. "I didn't _ask_ you to 'get rid of' Ellone for me. I didn't _want _you to! You can't keep imposing _your_ will on me like this, not if you expect …"

"Expect _what_, Raine?" Theo challenged.

"Nothing," Raine said, exhaling heavily. "You know what, forget it. Since you did me the _favor_ of taking Ellone off my hands for the night, I should really spend it down in the infirmary, to keep an eye on Mr. Loire. Mr. Vinidi could really use the help."

"Raine," Theo began, but Raine held up her hand.

"Good night, Theo," she said, turning and heading back to the clinic. This really wasa good idea. Dr. Vinidi was getting older, and he needed to be home with his wife, getting a decent amount of sleep. Raine was young, and with Elle safe with Mrs. Arvel, she had no one who really depended upon her right now.

Except for one badly mangled man, who at this moment, was just as alone as she was.


	3. Chapter Two: First Impressions

**Chapter Two**  
_**First Impressions**_

"… _It's been over a week, but Mr. Loire woke up today. Very confused about what had happened, but I don't think he has any brain damage. Just a little fuzzy-minded from the painkillers. He's healing nicely, though … _

… _His eyes are the most beautiful shade of green. I realize that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but this is my diary, and I just wanted to make a note of it, because I've never seen eyes that color before …_

… _Oh. And his name is Laguna …"  
-- Raine's Diary_

Laguna's first week in Winhill was uneventful. He slept soundly, having been dosed by Dr. Vinidi with some very strong painkillers, and he never once spiked a fever. Raine worried about his comatose state for a while, but the doctor assured her it was just his body's way of healing from such a massive amount of trauma.

She walked into his room the following Wednesday morning, fully expecting to find him still sleeping -- ready to take his temperature again, and check his vitals. To her surprise, he was awake. His eyes were open and he was looking around, confusion written all over his face. His face, which had healed quite nicely in the week that he'd been here. The bruises were no longer quite so vivid, and most of them were in the greenish-yellow stage now.

He had a nice face. Raine had noticed this a few days earlier, but only in passing. It was pleasant, kind. The face of a man who looked like he probably smiled a lot.

"Good morning," she said in a soft voice, so as not to startle him, and also, as sort of a test to see if his hearing had been damaged at all.

He turned to look at her and she smiled at him, crossing the room to stand at his bedside. Her smile faltered just a little when her eyes met his for the first time. His eyes were a vibrant shade of green that she had never seen before.

"Hi," she said to him, finding her voice. "How are you feeling today?"

"Sore," he admitted, grimacing.

Raine smiled sympathetically. "I'd imagine so," she said.

"Where … am I?" he asked, putting his hand to his head as if it hurt.

"Winhill," she told him.

"Win … hill," he repeated slowly. "Okay."

"It's on the Galbadian continent," she explained, "but it's pretty isolated. East of the Monterosa Plateau."

His eyes widened a little at that. "How did I … get here?"

Raine shrugged. "Good question," she said honestly. "You washed ashore about a week ago."

He closed his eyes, as if processing the new information. Then he opened them again and focused on her. "You've been taking care of me?" he asked. "Are you a doctor?"

"I'm just a nurse right now," she said quickly, shaking her head. "But I guess you could say I'm in training with Doctor Vinidi. And yes, I have been taking care of you," she replied, as she held up the thermometer. "Open your mouth, please."

He obliged, watching her as she worked. Now that he knew where he was … even if he didn't know how he'd ended up here … at least he could try to get to know the people who were kind enough to help him out.

So. The nurse. Laguna surmised that she was not what you would call _beautiful _in the classical sense of the word, but she _was _quite pretty. She had long dark hair and a delicately-featured face. Her eyes were a stormy shade of blue that Laguna associated with the sky after it rained.

The thermometer beeped then, and she pulled it out and read it. "Normal," she announced. She made a note on her clipboard. She turned back to him. "Do you remember anything about what happened to you?"

Laguna frowned thoughtfully. "I remember being somewhere in Esthar … we were lost, actually." He sounded a little sheepish as he admitted that. Raine bit back a smile. "But we were somewhere we _definitely_ weren't supposed to be … Kiros, Ward, and I … hey, they aren't here, are they?"

"Your friends?" Raine asked, and Laguna nodded. She shook her head. "No, just you," she told him.

Disappointment clouded his features. "Oh. Well … I hope they're all right. We had to jump off a cliff to get away."

Raine's eyes widened. "What? You _jumped _off of a _cliff_? How … big a cliff?"

"I dunno, a hundred or so feet," Laguna continued, oblivious to Raine's incredulous stare. "I mean, it was either take our chances and stay and get killed by the Esthar soldiers, or jump down to where the boats were waiting. And I don't know if you know, but Esthar soldiers are _not_ known for their hospitality. Trust me, dying from a high fall is preferable to the torture those guys dish out."

"You jumped off a cliff," Raine repeated, trying to discern whether or not she'd heard him right.

"But after that, it gets a little fuzzy. I guess I musta just drifted along till I ended up here," Laguna finished, ignoring Raine's previous statement.

"Do you jump off cliffs often, Mr. Loire?" she asked then.

He looked at her, blinking, as if he'd forgotten she was there. "What? No, of course not, that would be stupid."

Raine rolled her eyes and shook her head. Yeah, this man was certifiable. "Okay. So you made your 'great' escape from Esthar. And now you don't know what happened to your friends?"

His face fell. "No. Man, I hope they're all right. I don't know what I'd do if …"

"It's okay," Raine said. "I'll see what I can do about finding them for you, okay? What are their names?"

"Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac," Laguna said.

"And what about you? What's 'L' stand for?" She handed him his dogtags.

"Laguna," he replied absently, taking the dogtags and running his fingers over the raised letters.

"Laguna Loire," she repeated quietly to herself, making another note on her chart. "Do you have a family I should get word to? A wife, or a girlfriend?"

Laguna shook his head. "Nope," he said breezily. Raine blinked in surprise. "What?" he asked, catching it.

"Oh, it's nothing. You just … you were asking for a Julia when you were brought in here. I guess I just assumed …"

Laguna's face became wistful. "Julia," he repeated. "Yeah, no she's not my … anything, really. Just someone I used to know." He sighed, and Raine realized that he had wished that Julia had been something more than that.

Without thinking, she reached out and squeezed his hand. Her eyes were earnest as she looked at him. "Look, I am really sorry about what's happened to you. And to end up _here _of all places … you'll quickly learn that there just is not much here in the way of … well, _anything_, really. But I'll do whatever I can to find your friends for you. I can't say when you'll be healed enough to leave, but I'll be here, every day. And if you need anything at all, just let me know."

Laguna smiled then, tentatively, and Raine couldn't help but grin back. "Well, then, what should I call you?" he asked her, a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes. "Nurse?"

"Oh, Hyne, don't you _dare_," Raine groaned. "My name is Raine."

"Raine what?" he asked, eager as a little kid.

"Leonhart."

He smiled. "That's nice." He closed his eyes then, and Raine took it as her cue to leave.

"You need to rest. I'll be around later to check on you, okay? If you need anything, my phone number is right here." She tore a piece of paper off her notepad and set it down by the phone.

"Thank you," he said sleepily.

Raine smiled at him, even though his eyes were closed. She was happy to find that he was a very nice man, albeit a little crazy. And she'd enjoyed talking to him very much. "I'm glad you're finally awake," she told him truthfully.

If she'd known what the next weeks had in store for her, she never would have said any such thing.


End file.
